British Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost his majority in the House of Commons on Tuesday as he faced a showdown with members of his Conservative Party that will determine the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Johnson’s political predicament came about after Conservative Party lawmaker Phillip Lee defected to the Liberal Democrats, who oppose Brexit and want to remain in the European Union.

“I have reached the conclusion that it is not possible to serve my constituents’ and country’s best interests as a Conservative Member of Parliament,” Lee said in a statement.

“This Conservative government is aggressively pursuing a damaging Brexit in unprincipled ways. It is putting lives and livelihoods at risk unnecessarily and it is wantonly endangering the integrity of the United Kingdom,” he added.

His decision will weaken Johnson as he tries to prevent Parliament from blocking his plans to leave the bloc on Oct. 31.

Rebels within Johnson’s party are working with opposition lawmakers to try to force him to delay Brexit if he cannot agree on divorce terms with the EU in time.

But the prime minister — who took office in July vowing to deliver on the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit — insists that Britain must leave the EU on Oct. 31, with or without an agreement with Brussels.

After Lee dramatically made his way over to the Liberal Democrats, Johnson said he would obey the law, when asked by a lawmaker if his government would abide by legislation blocking a no-deal Brexit.

He also said he did not want to call an early election, again telling lawmakers that to avoid such an outcome, they should vote against a move aimed at stopping a no-deal Brexit.

“I don’t want an election, we don’t want an election … we want to get the deal done and the best way … to get a deal is to support the government in the lobbies tonight,” he told a raucous session of Parliament.

Lawmakers were poised to hold the first of a series of key votes in Parliament on Tuesday evening.

Johnson has threatened to kick out any Conservative lawmakers who join with the main opposition Labour Party in the voting to begin a process that could delay Brexit to January.

His aides also have warned that defeat would force him to call a snap election on Oct. 14, three days before the start of a crucial EU summit.

Meanwhile, a court in Edinburgh heard a legal challenge Tuesday against Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament next week for more than a month, which critics said was an attempt to silence MPs.

The heightened political tension sent the British pound plummeting Tuesday to its lowest level against the dollar in nearly three years.

Johnson took office after his predecessor, Theresa May, was forced out over her failure to get her Brexit divorce deal through Parliament.

From the start, he faced opposition from members of his own party who fear his threat of leaving the EU without an agreement with Brussels risks major economic disruption.

Former Finance Minister Philip Hammond is among those who have joined with Labour to draw up legislation that could force the prime minister to delay Brexit if he cannot get a deal.

Johnson has made clear he will not delay Brexit.

“I want everybody to know — there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay,” he said Monday outside Downing Street.

With Post wires

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